10. Major advancements in concussion and brain injury prevention. The new film Concussion, with Will Smith, brings to light the newly defined disease CTE – chronic brain encephalopathy. With repeated blows to the head, football players and athletes from a young age are at a much higher risk for developing chronic brain disease. Today, the disease is widely accepted and diagnosed, especially among football players. Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher, for example, killed his girlfriend before killing himself in 2013. It’s believed his aggression and depression were caused by CTE. The 2015 movie ‘Concussion’ creates a much wider awareness of CTE, and the NFL has put much stricter measurements in place to reduce diagnoses of CTE.

8. Mammograms recommended for women starting at age 45 instead of 40. In October 2015, the American Cancer Society (ACS) revised their recommendation for women to receive annual mammograms at age 40 to 45, and move to every two years after 55. Increasing the age for this procedure is based on several studies that question the value of screening mammograms. According to these doctors, for each breast cancer death prevented from a mammogram, 3-4 women are ‘over diagnosed.’ Meaning that either the mammogram gave a false positive, or a mammogram found cancer that would’ve eventually been diagnosed as malignant by other means without any effect on prognosis. Over diagnosis means more tests, doctor visits, as well as physical, emotional, and economical costs. Read about the new mammogram guidelines in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

4. New cases of diabetes is down for the first time in 25 years.According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the rate of new cases fell by 20% rom 2008 to 2014. After 25 years of increasing new cases year after year, new cases are finally starting to fall. In 2014, there were 1.4 million new cases, compared to 1.7 million new cases in 2008. However, we can’t be sure whether the fall is because of a rise in education and awareness, or because it has saturated the population. Dr. David M. Nathan, the director of the Diabetes Center and Clinical Research Center at Massachusetts General Hospital said, “It’s not yet time to have a parade.” While the decline is evident, there is still much work to be done in the coming year.

3. Measles outbreak linked to an amusement park in California.In 2015, 189 from 24 states and Washington D.C. were diagnosed with measles. 113 of these cases were linked to an amusement park in California, according to the CDC. The majority of measles patients were unvaccinated, raising a nationwide debate about vaccinations and a link to autism, which medical professionals agree does not exist. The outbreak began from a traveler who was infected overseas with the measles because they were unvaccinated. According to the CDC, measles is a ‘highly contagious, acute viral illness that can lead to complications such as pneumonia, encephalitis, and death.’ Measles is a mostly contained disease because of the 2-dose vaccination given to young children.

2. Superbugs could kill up to 40,000 people in the next five years.As Americans take more antibiotics and medicines, drug-resistant infections could spread and become even more deadly than they already are. The report calls for health care enters to work together to prevent infections, coming up with systems to control infections and better alert systems when an infection becomes present. The CDC continues to report that hospitals currently respond to outbreaks as one-man show, many not reporting them to local, state, or federal health departments. Basically, this approach isn’t working. Between bad systems and over-prescribed society, something has to change next year if we want to prevent up to 40,000 deaths.

1. Processed meat said cause cancer. This is a story you absolutely did not miss. The WHO announced in october that said processed meats – like hotdogs, sausage, ham, bacon (and turkey bacon) – cause cancer. It also said that red meat is ‘probably carcinogenic to humans.’ the IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer) reviewed 800 studies on the association of these types of meats with cancer from people all around the world. The IARC didn’t give us a ‘safe’ amount of red or processed meat to eat. There’s no evidence of a level that is declared safe or unsafe. Instead, the ACS recommends that we minimize processed and read meat in our diet, instead opting for fish, poultry, and beans.

What other health news did you find ground breaking this year? Let us know in the comments. And download Nutrino to start a healthy 2016.